As a general rule, when people get married, they share their belongings. What was once her couch is now theirs and what may have been his retirement fund may now be a shared account. This joining of so many assets and other property can be difficult to divide in the case of a divorce. Couples facing property division in Georgia have a number of things to consider.
If the two parties created a prenuptial agreement before getting married, that agreement may assist with the process of dividing property. If not, then the divorcing couple gets to start at the very beginning. One major part of this process is identifying all property; however, intangible property is easy to overlook.
If one believes that the other spouse may have separate assets, he or she may need to provide proof of that. All marital debt, whether incurred by one spouse or both, has to be identified since both assets and debts will have to be split between the two parties. Once all of the assets, properties and debts have been disclosed, the current value and possible future appreciation or depreciation has to be determined by an appraiser.
It is important to provide full disclosure of assets and property during this process even if something is deemed to be separate property. Understanding one’s marital and separate assets and property, as well as debts, can provide a firm foundation that can ease the potential stress that comes with property division. Couples in Georgia who are working through a divorce can seek assistance, which may make processes like this much less challenging.
Source: The Huffington Post, “A Few Questions to Consider in Divorce Property Division Situations“, Brad Reid, June 29, 2015